“Yeah. We were real close.” Steve wasn’t stepping on any toes, but that didn’t mean Bucky was going to talk volumes about it.
He remembered when he first met Kat. He’d spent his first day in the cathouse fuming in his room, not leaving it even for meals despite his pangs of hunger. But then she had come to his room with a kind smile and a loaf of bread and he’d found it hard to be mad at her. His anger evaporated as they finished off the bread together. “I know our situation isn’t exactly ideal,” she had said, “but if we stick together, it’ll make it all bearable.”
“Nah, no more coffee,” he said in response to Steve’s suggestion. “Three cups is my limit, I’m afraid.” His eyes turned to the pantry and he realized just how hungry he was. The similarities between this and his first day at the cathouse couldn’t be ignored. In both cases, he was hungry, in a new, unfamiliar place, worried about people who had a vendetta against him. But in both cases, he also had people reaching out to him. Yes, he would accept the bread Steve extended to him. “Some food sounds good, though.”
Sympathy touched the blond man's face before he turned away to start cleaning the coffee grounds from the coffee pot. His landlady did not abide people making a mess in her kitchen at all, especially in the middle of the night.
"Alright, let's see what she left for us then." With easy familiarity indicating it wasn't the first time he'd raided the pantry at night, the sheriff found a covered basket containing some bread, cured ham and a block of cheese. There was also a couple of strudel wrapped up in a cheesecloth. Steve's stomach rumbled at the prospect of food and he carried the basket back out to the kitchen and set it down between them.
"Mrs. Schuyler's pastries are amazing." Touched by the gruff German's kindness, Steve started to lay out the fixings for their sandwiches.
What they had this time was better than a loaf of bread. He hadn’t eaten anything since that meager breakfast of biscuits and eggs, and it was all he could do not to pounce on the food like a hungry wolf. “Looks good,” he said, showing restraint as he took some of the bread.
Steve was so hungry he practically did pounce upon the food like a ravenous wolf. The sheriff wasted no time in splitting the bread down the middle so he could fold in slices of the cured ham and sharp tasting cheese. It was only after he'd finished one of the makeshift sandwiches and cleared it down with a sip of coffee that Steve broke the companionable silence that had fallen between them.
"So, what are your plans, Mr. Barnes? Would many people recognize you if you weren't errr....dressed up like a female?" What an awkward question to ask.
If he’d known the other man would attack the food like that, Bucky wouldn’t have been so worried about wolfing it down. Still, he felt the need to keep some kind of propriety. Especially given the other man’s lack of manners. Bucky knew what the man thought of him, and it became clearer with that awkwardly worded question. He felt the need to prove he could have class, too.
He shrugged. “Dunno. I figured I’d keep running and hiding till the Lukin situation’s taken care of, and then I’d be free to live my life.” He bit into his own sandwich, chewing over the question as he ate. “Lukin and his cronies. The people I worked for and with. Don’t think any of my customers would.”
Give the guy a break, he hadn't eaten in close to twenty-four hours. If there had been a lady present he would have eaten a little more decorously but as it was, he was famished.
"Well, are you planning on staying around town? If so, I'd say keeping a lot profile is the way to go for a while." In other words, no running around in dresses. "First things first, if you're going to stick around town, you're going to need gainful employment. I can put in a good word for you but if you've got some skills I can see who all is hiring."
“Yessir, I’m staying in town. Got nowhere else to go, so I figure I might as well.” He paused, trying to think of skills he had that weren’t of a carnal nature. “I can sew.” He always mended his own costumes when they got damaged. Some of his clients were rougher than others and didn’t show the same care for the garments that others did.
"Aren't you worried about Lukin?" Steve asked suspiciously. Maybe he'd been overly tired last night but Bucky had lead him to believe he was terrified of the Russian. "You can sew? There's a Chinese laundry in town but I don't know if they're hiring." Steve bought most of his clothing from the general store and had no idea if the town even had a tailor or not.
Bucky frowned. He didn’t want to work at a Chinese laundry. He shrugged in response to Steve’s other question. “Don’t got no family, don’t got nowhere else to go. I’d rather not strike all alone in a new town especially with his guys after me. If he really wants to find me, he’ll do it whether or not I’m in town. At least this way, I’ve got you to defend my honor.” He grinned, batting his lashes at the man.
It was a good thing Bucky didn't voice that particular opinion or he would have found himself being pinned with a disapproving look. "Really? You don't want the chance at a fresh start and a new life somewhere else?"
He asked doubtfully. Especially since Bucky's next words had wariness creeping through the blond man. Steve set down what remained of his second helping of bread and ham with a serious look on his face. "Don't say things like that. I'm committed to upholding the laws of this town and I'd rather not have to hang you for baiting Lukin or his men into attacking you only so you can try and take them out.
“Hang me? That’d be a hangin’ offense?” He shrugged. “Good to know. Not that I’d do it.” Like he would ever be so petty. “I can also do some basic leatherwork. Very basic...”
"You deliberately baiting people into attacking them would be if your only motivation was gunning them down in the street would be." Steve pointed out direly. It wasn't a charitable opinion of the man but they had met after Bucky shot another man dead so could you blame him? "Maybe the livery stable is looking for someone then."
"Uh huh. Well, like I said, I ain't really that type of person." Like how he wasn't the kind of person who would shoot a man in the back. "That sounds good." Much better than working the laundry, at any rate. That wasn't exactly the kind of work where he could reassert his masculinity.
"Alright then, I'll see what I can do, Mr. Barnes." After eating the last sandwich, Steve dug into his slice of pie with much more care and relish. "So, is there anything you can tell me about Lukin that'll help me take him down and thereby save your bacon from the fire?"
He started on his own dessert, thinking it over. "Maybe it'd be best to talk to Natasha about that, since she's on the inside 'n' all." Or maybe he could talk to her about it. He wouldn't mind spending more time with the gorgeous redhead.
"If it's not too much trouble, maybe you could schedule a time for us to meet. If it's not too much trouble for you, what with your already doin' so much for me." He gave the man a gracious smile. Bucky Barnes was quite the skilled manipulator, though he wasn't always that way. He became that way because he had to, even just to survive.
"I wasn't suggest throwing you to the wolves or anything, I just thought maybe you'd heard something." And though Steve wouldn't say it out loud, he was worried about getting Natasha anymore embroiled in Lukin's affairs.
The blond sheriff didn't smile back or seemed like he was going to take the bait. "I'm only doing the Christian thing, Mr. Barnes. But that being said, don't try and play me like one of your clients. Alright?"
He remembered when he first met Kat. He’d spent his first day in the cathouse fuming in his room, not leaving it even for meals despite his pangs of hunger. But then she had come to his room with a kind smile and a loaf of bread and he’d found it hard to be mad at her. His anger evaporated as they finished off the bread together. “I know our situation isn’t exactly ideal,” she had said, “but if we stick together, it’ll make it all bearable.”
“Nah, no more coffee,” he said in response to Steve’s suggestion. “Three cups is my limit, I’m afraid.” His eyes turned to the pantry and he realized just how hungry he was. The similarities between this and his first day at the cathouse couldn’t be ignored. In both cases, he was hungry, in a new, unfamiliar place, worried about people who had a vendetta against him. But in both cases, he also had people reaching out to him. Yes, he would accept the bread Steve extended to him. “Some food sounds good, though.”
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"Alright, let's see what she left for us then." With easy familiarity indicating it wasn't the first time he'd raided the pantry at night, the sheriff found a covered basket containing some bread, cured ham and a block of cheese. There was also a couple of strudel wrapped up in a cheesecloth. Steve's stomach rumbled at the prospect of food and he carried the basket back out to the kitchen and set it down between them.
"Mrs. Schuyler's pastries are amazing." Touched by the gruff German's kindness, Steve started to lay out the fixings for their sandwiches.
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"So, what are your plans, Mr. Barnes? Would many people recognize you if you weren't errr....dressed up like a female?" What an awkward question to ask.
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He shrugged. “Dunno. I figured I’d keep running and hiding till the Lukin situation’s taken care of, and then I’d be free to live my life.” He bit into his own sandwich, chewing over the question as he ate. “Lukin and his cronies. The people I worked for and with. Don’t think any of my customers would.”
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"Well, are you planning on staying around town? If so, I'd say keeping a lot profile is the way to go for a while." In other words, no running around in dresses. "First things first, if you're going to stick around town, you're going to need gainful employment. I can put in a good word for you but if you've got some skills I can see who all is hiring."
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He asked doubtfully. Especially since Bucky's next words had wariness creeping through the blond man. Steve set down what remained of his second helping of bread and ham with a serious look on his face. "Don't say things like that. I'm committed to upholding the laws of this town and I'd rather not have to hang you for baiting Lukin or his men into attacking you only so you can try and take them out.
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"If it's not too much trouble, maybe you could schedule a time for us to meet. If it's not too much trouble for you, what with your already doin' so much for me." He gave the man a gracious smile. Bucky Barnes was quite the skilled manipulator, though he wasn't always that way. He became that way because he had to, even just to survive.
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The blond sheriff didn't smile back or seemed like he was going to take the bait. "I'm only doing the Christian thing, Mr. Barnes. But that being said, don't try and play me like one of your clients. Alright?"
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